Battalion claw back to slip by Greyhounds

A northern rivalry was reignited Thursday evening as the Soo Greyhounds visited North Bay for a match against the Battalion, with the Troops skating away with a decisive 5-3 third period come-from-behind victory.

“It feels good and it was a good hockey game,” head coach Ryan Oulahen said post-game.

“I had a feeling that when they made it 3-2, there’s no way we were going to lose this hockey game. I had the feeling we weren’t going to be denied. 

“We were playing too good tonight, really happy and a big performance by (Mike) McIvor in net, gets his first win against a good hockey team so hopefully we can carry this momentum a little bit through the weekend.”

Once the game got underway, the Battalion struck quick as a Ty Nelson (7) shot along the ice from the right faceoff dot slid under Hounds netminder Charlie Schenkel. Not to be outdone however, Jack Beck (6) slid the puck on Mike McIvor, who was making his first start at Memorial Gardens, and the puck found its way behind the goaltender. Both goals, the goalies got a piece of it, but each time the puck found paydirt. Those proved to be the only goals in the period as the score stood at 1-1 at the first intermission.

Midway through the middle frame, and on what looked like a broken play, Liam Arnsby broke into the Soo end, lost possession and the puck found Owen Van Steensel who pushed the puck to the front of the net, finding Jacob Therrien (6) who slipped the puck to the back of the net, giving North Bay a one-goal lead, which the team held into the second intermission.

Just under two and a half minutes into the third, the Greyhounds knotted the game at 2-2 as a puck bounced off the end boards to Brenden Sirizzotti (6) in the crease, and he slid it under McIvor in the Battalion net. Halfway through the period, the Greyhounds took their first lead as Owen Allard (5) roofed the puck past McIvor on a broken play.

Moments later, the Troops responded in kind as Therrien (7) found the puck at the side of the Soo net, sliding it into the goal to tie the game at 3-3.

Continuing the momentum, after killing off a penalty, Brice Cooke (3) stepped out of the box, picked up the puck and slid around Schenkel to give North Bay the lead once again. Not stopping there, Owen Van Steensel (9) found the back of the net late with the Greyhounds pulling their goalie to make the final 5-3.

All told, McIvor faced 30 shots, making 27 saves in his first ever OHL victory, which left the team and the netminder happy. 

“It feels unreal,” exclaimed McIvor moments after the final whistle.

“My theory was saving that first win for the best fans in the CHL. I just love playing hockey and at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about," said the former U18 Trapper, whose last game against a Soo Greyhounds team was an 8-5 Great North U18 championship victory over the favoured Hounds in Sault Ste. Marie last March. 

“The depth that we have in net, and Dom (DiVincentiis) leading the charge, here’s a kid that has been extremely patient and all he does is work, work, work,” expanded Oulahen. “Extra reps, and he’s gone down to Powassan, he’s gotten game action there, we know the capabilities this kid has and what a bright future he has.

“Congrats to him, it starts with the first one and away we go.”

The Battalion will be back in action Saturday when they head south on Highway 11 to face off against the rival Barrie Colts. Puck drop from the Sadlon Arena is 7:30 p.m.